New Case... Now Computer Won't Boot

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Jarrod Mochnick

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Apr 23, 2013
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Hi everyone,

I recently purchased a Cooler Master HAF 912 Series case. I bought this because my old case did not have a space for a 2.5" SSD. I took apart my old build (without taking pictures, of course...) and immediately began getting it set up in my new case. The first few times I was unable to get any hint of power when I pressed the power button, but after I unhooked the front panel LED's/switches, I was able to get some power. However, it only powers up for a split second (really not even 1 second) and then immediately shuts off. My motherboard is an MSI 970a-G46. It has a 4-phase power sequence(?) for the CPU (I know this by the blue LEDs on the board), and when I press the power button, all four of the LEDs light up before the computer shuts down.

I've tried the following troubleshooting methods:

Reseat RAM
Reseat 24-pin and 8-pin power cables that go to motherboard
Removed dedicated graphics card
Removed connections to HDD, SDD, and CD/DVD
Tried front panel connections both ways (can't really tell which is positive or negative)
Tried different power source (plugged tower in to another wall socket)

I'm really at a loss here. I know when I first built my computer about two years ago I had this same issue, but I think it ended up being the CD drive. I didn't take pictures last night of my connections, but I can definitely do so later today when I get home from work. I figured I would throw this out there for now to see if anybody had any ideas.

If anybody needs any more detail, please let me know.

Thank you so much in advance!

Motherboard: MSI 970a-G46 Manual
PSU: Cooler Master RS-600-PCAR-E3 Manual
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Series Manual

EDIT: Updated with links to manuals & components in question
 
Solution
P
This could be a short circuit problem. One common kind of error is the mounting details of mobo in case.

The mobo is designed with many holes for mounting screws - more than each case accepts, so you do NOT use them all. In the case, you must place standoffs in pre-drilled holes that match some holes in the mobo - usually about 6 of them. There should always be a standoff where the mobo has a hole that lines up. These make sure the mobo is held away from the case everywhere else. More importantly, there should NEVER be a standoff where there is no mobo hole; a standoff in the wrong place can cause a short. Since you changed cases, it is possible that the correct mounting holes in your mobo are different from those in the old case, so...
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Xyos

Xyos

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Oct 5, 2009
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Did you connect the power button cable properly to the motherboard? Each mobo is different and you should consult the manual to see how the power switch cable should be connected to the motherboard.
 
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huilun02

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If you're concerned that something went wrong with a component, just jury rig it back to the original case's front panel connector to see if it boots fine.

It is possible the front panel of your new case has a defect, causing accidental power switches or shorting the board.

Or you just plugged the connectors wrong.
 
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J

Jarrod Mochnick

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Apr 23, 2013
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I'm honestly thinking I plugged something in incorrectly, but I've checked the mobo manual and reseated the connections multiple times. I can update this post later with some pictures and a link to the manual for greater detail. If it helps at the moment, these are the following components we are discussing:

Motherboard: MSI 970a-G46 Manual
PSU: Cooler Master RS-600-PCAR-E3 Manual
Case: Cooler Master HAF 912 Series Manual

EDIT: Updated with links to manuals
 
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Paperdoc

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Oct 19, 2006
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This could be a short circuit problem. One common kind of error is the mounting details of mobo in case.

The mobo is designed with many holes for mounting screws - more than each case accepts, so you do NOT use them all. In the case, you must place standoffs in pre-drilled holes that match some holes in the mobo - usually about 6 of them. There should always be a standoff where the mobo has a hole that lines up. These make sure the mobo is held away from the case everywhere else. More importantly, there should NEVER be a standoff where there is no mobo hole; a standoff in the wrong place can cause a short. Since you changed cases, it is possible that the correct mounting holes in your mobo are different from those in the old case, so check that.

Once you are sure the standoffs and holes match up, position the mobo in the case and install screws. NOTE that these mounting holes have exposed metal contacts around them - they are SUPPOSED to connect the mobo Ground plane to the case via the metal standoffs.

I had one odd incident years ago. After installing mobo in case as I was checking everything, I discovered a problem in one of the rear panel connectors. The cover plate mounted in the case back has springy metal fingers that surround each connector to contact its outer shell for grounding. But on one connector I had made an alignment error during installation, and a metal finger was poking into the connectors inner contacts, not on the outside. That was a potential short circuit connection. I had to remove the mobo and re-install properly.
 
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Solution
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Jarrod Mochnick

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Apr 23, 2013
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Paperdoc - thanks very much for your reply. It was very informative.

When I opened up the new case, there were six odd-looking gold screws in place where the motherboard goes. I'm assuming these are the standoffs you are referring to. I removed each one of them and then installed the motherboard. There were only three holes that lined up, so I screwed those in tightly and that was that.

So if I am understanding your suggestion correctly, you are saying that where the mobo and case holes line up, I should have left the metal standoffs in place? And keep the rest of the standoffs removed?

Again, thank you very much for your reply. It's something I would have never thought of. I will let you know if this works when I finish up work later today.
 
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Paperdoc

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Now you're on the right track. When you removed ALL the standoffs, you set it up so that there is NO clearance between mobo and case backplane, so I'm SURE you have short circuit problems. Installing standoffs properly will correct this.

I am intrigued when you say there were only three apparent spots where mobo holes lined up with case standoff holes. As you start this changeover, look carefully through all the mobo holes to see what is behind them. Don't forget that the original positioning of standoffs when you got the case is NOT the right place for all of them. I expect that there are pre-drilled holes in the case backplane for insertion of standoffs that will mate with mobo holes in more than 3 places - as I said, often it is about 6.

It is possible that, by operating your system with no standoffs, the short circuit condition could have damaged the mobo. There is a good chance there is NO such damage, so don't panic. But I just want you to be aware of the possibility.
 
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Jarrod Mochnick

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Apr 23, 2013
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Again, thank you for the reply.

I thought I was looking pretty closely when lining up the motherboard with the standoff holes, but I'll be sure to double check once I reinstall it with the standoffs included. I did find it odd that only three of them matched up, but it the mobo seemed pretty secure so I thought it was normal. This is really only my first build, so I'm transitioning to only my second case ever.

Thanks for the heads up on the potential damage as well. I'm hoping that isn't the case, but I've honestly been meaning to get a new motherboard/processor combo in the near future anyways :p.

 
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Jarrod Mochnick

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Apr 23, 2013
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Paperdoc - your solution worked! All six of the standoffs matched up with my mobo, everything fit much more easily and most importantly, the computer powered on. I would have never guessed it was a short circuit problem. Thank you so much!
 
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